The development of standardized and universally adopted computer networks such as the Internet or corporate intranets based on Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”) has provided a new compatibility previously unavailable for people using computers on isolated or incompatible computer networks. The widespread acceptance of TCP/IP networking and the use of software such as Web browsers now allows electronic files to be transmitted from one computer to another, regardless of computer platform or geographic location. Electronic mail (“email”) and the ability to attach computer files to email is an example of such use.
Certain industries are now using computers as their primary tool for creating documents. Such industries include, but are not limited to, graphic design, illustration, product design, architecture, photography, and the legal industry, to name just a few. Software programs have been created to meet the particular needs of each industry, many of which create complicated electronic files based on complex page description languages such as, but not limited to the PostScript® page description language. Exchanging electronic files between document creator and the person or persons who must proof and approve the document often necessitates that both parties use the exact same software version, often running on the same computer operating system.
For example, a layout artist may use Quark Xpress® or Adobe PageMaker® to layout pages using graphical images taken from pixel-based imaging programs such as Adobe Photoshop® or vector-based programs such as Adobe Illustrator® or Macromedia FreeHand®. An architect may use a Computer Aided Design (“CAD”) program appropriate to his or her work, and product designers may use their industry's preferred CAD software programs to create work that needs to be distributed to and/or proofed by another party, such as a client, or for peer review with colleagues within their own organization. Other professionals may use a particular brand of word processing software in a particular release on a particular platform. Although these programs may provide limited versioning capabilities they generally utilize proprietary, not portable document formats, typically do not enable simultaneous display and/or control of multiple document versions, and often do not include comment history capabilities.
Software solutions have been invented to allow document creators and document approvers (or proofreaders) to exchange computer files without regard to the original authoring software or computer platform. These solutions are often termed “portable document formats” and include, but are not limited to, Adobe System's Acrobat Portable Document Format, Envoy's portable document format, and FlashPix, a graphical file format created by the Digital Imaging Group, a consortium of nine leading imaging companies.
Portable document formats can be defined as computer file formats that describe a file created in any computer program, and allow a user to view the file, preserving its exact appearance, without need for the original authoring program. Converting a computer-generated file into a portable document format allows a document creator to send the computer file to another party to be viewed and, depending on the format, printed. Many portable document file formats preserve the original visual and print integrity of a complicated PostScript®-based document. Most portable document format reader programs or browser plug-ins are available for free download from the Internet and other computer networks. Others use widely supported programming languages, such as the Java programming language, and “virtual machines” to display files on a variety of operating systems. Although these products alleviate some of the platform, release dependence and proprietary format issues, problems of managing and tracking multiple versions of multiple documents being distributed to and proofed by multiple parties concurrently and asynchronously remain. The ability to compare current and past versions of a document onscreen or in print is a great help when distributing and proofing documents, yet is often difficult and confusing using conventional methods such as File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”) to post files to a server or emailing multiple files to multiple document recipients. The capability of reviewers to change which is the current/preferred version of a document and/or to review a history of comments about each document version is also not provided.
Another significant obstacle to proofing documents with clients or colleagues over computer networks is that despite common network protocols such as the Internet, delivering portable documents over networks can be difficult. Incompatible email gateways can corrupt file attachments, and some corporate firewall technology does not permit file attachments at all. In addition, email is not always speedily delivered, as it has low priority for use of Internet bandwidth, and, further, is often not secure.
J. Smith, et. al. Electronic Document Delivery System in Which Notification of Said Electronic Document is Sent to a Recipient Thereof, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,790, (4 Aug. 1998) discloses a network-based electronic document delivery system, which has a network server that stores electronic files to be accessed by email and file recipients. This disclosed prior art system may be characterized as a “push publishing” system of delivering documents using a server as a storage facility to hold documents. A document recipient receives a reference, in the form of electronic mail, which points directly to the file to be delivered on the server. Systems of this kind solve some problems with delivery of documents over a network, but do not provide features for collaborative production and review of documents.
The disclosed prior art systems and methodologies provide methods for the delivery of portable format documents over computer networks, but fail to provide a way to automatically display or track multiple versions of the electronic documents, to review and add to a history of comments about the particular version of the document displayed, to alter the current/preferred version of the document, or to simultaneously-display a particular document version and its current history. Nor do the disclosed prior art systems enable these capabilities for simultaneously managing multiple different projects and documents.